Alison Butterfield

Shoffner, M. (2018). Disrupting the World as We Know It: Addressing Racism in ELA Teacher
Education. Journal of Language and Literacy Education. Retrieved February 5, 2018.

Wong, C. A., Eccles, J. S., & Sameroff, A. (2003). The Influence of Ethnic Discrimination and
Ethnic Identification on African American Adolescents' School and Socioemotional
Adjustment. Journal of Personality, 71(6), 1197-1232. doi:10.1111/14676494.7106012

Rationale: I chose the African American population to do my analysis on because I feel like the
African American population has been known for being misplaced in special education classes
due to past prejudices educators and all of society have had in the past. This article specifically
focuses on African American Adolescents and their personal experience with ethnic
discrimination. I feel like this population is commonly overlooked. Usually, when we think about
a population we focus on children or adults but most do not see the sizable difference between
children and adolescence. There is a completely different level of understanding that applies to
adolescence that children do not have. The research was based out of a specific county in
Maryland. It was stated that there have been numerous changes demographically and politically
since the 60’s. The large demographic changed with more African Americans entering the
primarily white community and this interested me because I am noticing this shift in my
community. I am hoping to be able to analyze the research and further understand what happens
when a new population enters an area and how I can help create a smooth transition for
everyone; especially the adolescent population because they are in such an unstable, crucial part
of life.

Author Credibility: “The influence of Ethnic Discrimination and Ethnic Identification on

African American Adolescents’ School and Socioemotional Adjustment” has three separate
authors. The first author is Carol A. Wong from University of Delaware. She is currently an
associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware and focuses on
secondary education courses. She also teaches masters programs for the School of Education.
The second author is Jacquelynne S. Eccles from the University of Michigan. Dr. Eccles works
in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. She is an avid researcher and focuses
on family and school influences on development as well as many other topics. She earned her
PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles. Lastly, Arnold Sameroff from the
University of Michigan as well. He is still a professor at the University of Michigan in
psychology. He received his PhD from Yale University.

Motive for writing the article: It is imperative for educators to understand all the factors that
may affect an adolescents learning ability. All educators must realize that when there is a major
demographic change within a community it is their job to make sure the transition remains
smooth and to make adjustments where it may be necessary. In this case it happened to be for the
African American Adolescent population and the researchers were able to show the effects of
ethnic discrimination within the educational setting.

Central Argument: The authors stated their main goal as, “It is impossible to determine the role
of these ethnic processes or situations in psychological development unless the proposed ethnic
constructs are examined explicitly” (Wong 1199). There has been racism in the united states for
countless years and even though we may want to think it has vanished from our communities,
that is simply not true. Since this is still a factor that is effecting students but more specifically
African American adolescents. Educators must find a way to meet the needs of all students and
eliminate ethnic discrimination and ethnic identification from affecting students learning
experience. Considering the fact that all students are receiving a free and appropriate public
education it is crucial that this remains true and unviolated for the sake of all students.

Section I: Cultural Characteristics of Ethnic

Throughout the report the cultural characteristics of African Americans and African

American adolescents came through. Some of the underlying factors hinted at the cultural

characteristics. It was found that the family base is extremely important and offers each family

member heaps of support, in most cases. This is very important because sometimes that is the
only support system one has when racial discrimination take place. In this article they focused on
adolescents so it is common to see a base of friends that will show support but unfortunately in
this situation when the community predominantly white, at first, these kids do not have that
Commented [WNP1]: Take a look at my Activities to
Investigate Funds of Knowledge List – Clinical Experiences
Module. What strengths and resources can members of a
household or community bring to their children’s learning
that complements what they are learning in traditional
classrooms? How can the teacher then work with said
students to make connections to desired dispositions and
specific academic standards and content being discussed in
a unit, lesson plan, or classroom management strategy?

support due to ethnic discrimination

Another characteristic that was present in the research was that African Americans have

been undervalued in the past and still might feel that pressure. This became apparent when the
African American adolescents started disengaging from school because they were seeing adults
being discriminated against in the workplace. This is a common occurrence when adolescents see
this because they have a tendency to not understand the point in higher education if they will just
Commented [WNP2]: Here is something to think about:
The authors know the negative ideology about school, held
by some students of color, is shaped by social circumstances
(economic conditions; nature of urban schools serving
minority youth; educational and social challenges to having
pride in one’s racial identity), but my students don’t until I
discuss it - Oppositional culture occurs when schools tend to
under-educate students of color and/or try to demean their
racial identity by devaluing being black, Latino/a, Indian,
Asian, etc. Would you view schooling as positive if it was a
space that demeaned you academically and undervalued
you and your sense of ethnic or racial identify?
be discriminated against. Now, this is what the students noticed in this specific setting so this is

not necessarily a cultural norm everywhere.

Section II: Important Societal Factors

“Prior to 1960, 85% of the residents in this county were White and political control was

held by the Whites; by 1995, 51% of the households were African Americans and 43% were

White, and the Whites and African Americans had equal political control” (Wong 1205). To

begin this can be quite and intimidating statistic but essentially it is saying this county when

though a decent amount of demographical change within a short time frame. Such an abrupt

change to society can lead to ethnic discrimination which will have a lasting effect on the

adolescence within the community. Since the political control became balanced between African

Americans and Whites this was a unique situation for the community because this is usually not

something one would see in this situation. It is more common for the dominant race to remain in

power.

Another societal factor discussed within “The Influence of Ethnic Discrimination and

Ethnic Identification of African American Adolescents’ School and Socioemotional Adjustment”

was the affects stereotypes had on the students surveyed. It was found that most of the

stereotypes were about African American adolescents having poor mental health and easily

enraged or upset. This was found to heavily impact their drive for education. It was also stated Commented [WNP3]: Here is an example of the concepts
of “racialization” and “ideology” as discussed in my
Important Societal Factors document and my Graphic –
that the students that face these stereotypes have a tendency to remove themselves from school. Social Constructs of Difference document.

Most of the time the students will disengage mentally but will not be able to physically remove

themselves from school. At this point most students experience low motivation and a negative Commented [WNP4]: Great point! See my discussion in
the previous section about oppositional culture.
mental state starting to affect them.
 When Wong, Eccles, and Sameroff started the study they wanted to focus on the
adolescent population because there are few studies done with solely adolescents. As they
conducted their research there were many societal factors that would affect the study and the way
the adolescents responded to the surveys. They collected data in two separate waves, one the
beginning of their 7th grade year and the second at the end of their 8th grade year. Some very
fascinating findings were listed such as the fact that, “subjective experiences of discrimination
undermine African American adolescents’ development in several domains of functioning”
(Wong 1203). So they were able to prove that African America adolescents were unfortunately
behind in crucial aspects of functioning due to the existing racial discrimination. This is an
unfortunate and illegal situation because all students are not given an equal learning opportunity.
Also, it is a crucial note that all educators are making sure they are ready and prepared to always
advocate for students so this does not happen again like it did to this population of African
American adolescents.
Sectional III: Educational Strategies and Interventions
To continue, we will discuss multiple strategies and interventions for educators to prevent
any sense of ethnic discrimination within the classroom. The first strategy is to always include
culture within the classroom. This is a simple step and it will allow all students to understand and
accept one another. By incorporating culture in the classroom in more ways than just an
occasional party will allow students to realized where their classmates come from and they will
even learn interesting facts about their own ethnic culture they may never have known about.
Learning about culture encourages acceptance and will help overcome stereotypes. Overcoming
stereotypes would be and overwhelming step forward for future generations.
Commented [WNP5]: Now let’s operationalize what you
discuss in this section:
I ask you to think about the Culturally Relevant Teaching
framework as developed by Gloria Ladson-Billings and
operationalized by two of my Saint Paul Travel Study
Teaching Assistants Aubrey and Adrienne (see Discussion
section of D2L). Here are the parts of Ladson-Billings
framework:
Academic Achievement: What are the academic
experiences and challenges faced by African American
learners?
Cultural Competence: How can a teacher both identify and
make use of these learners’ Funds of Knowledge (See my
Activities to Investigate Funds of Knowledge List)?
Critical Consciousness: How can a teacher use both his/her
knowledge of African American learners and acquired
cultural competence to empower/advocate for these
learners in social and academic ways (e.g., adjustment of
curriculum – content specific tools to help these students
see academic, social, economic inequalities facing them and
their communities; making changes in pedagogy - see
Pedagogical Triangle; removing learning barriers, utilizing
learners’ families and community as academic resources,
etc.)?
 Another strategy that would be better used with middle school aged kids and up would

be, using explicit lessons about racism and ethnic discrimination. By doing this it will bring up

difficult conversation that may expose strong emotions but it will also allow students to

understand the full effect of how racism an ethnic discrimination negatively affected multiple

ethnic groups. To have a student fully understand what happened and by not sugar coating the

lesson, it will be a much more powerful. With the sense of brutal honesty in the lesson it will

hopefully drive kids together and help them understand that any form of ethnic discrimination

can turn from something small, like name calling, to something tremendously hurtful and

disgraceful.

Lastly, it would be greatly beneficial to not only advocate for the students but teach them

how to advocate for each other. While in the process of becoming an educator one learns about Commented [WNP6]: See my Comment Box above,
especially the area of Critical Consciousness.
the importance of being an advocate for their students and how crucial it is. So, why not extend

that lesson to the students? If the previous strategies are followed each student should have a

solid cultural understanding and should be able to support their fellow classmates in multiple

situations. By allowing students to be culturally educated it will further help their understanding

and desire for equality among all cultures, which should allow them to become wonderful

advocates for each other in the process. Commented [WNP7]: Nice discussion in this Research
Report - Rubric Score: 3/3/3
 References

Kennedy, B. M., Ard, J. D., Harrison, L., Conish, B. K., Kennedy, E., Levy, E. J., & Brantley, P.

J. (n.d.). Cultural characteristics of African Americans: Implications for the design of

trials that target behavior and health promotion programs. Retrieved February 06, 2018,

from https://utexas.influuent.utsystem.edu/en/publications/cultural-characteristics-of-

african-americans-implications-for-th

University of Michigan School of Education. (n.d.). Jacquelynne S. Eccles. Retrieved February

06, 2018, from http://www.soe.umich.edu/people/profile/eccles_jacquelynne/